


Burned by Love

by Waywardwrites



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, AtLA, Avatar the Last Airbender, Azula is a bitch, Betrayal, Book 1, Childhood Friends, Fire Nation, Hakoda - Freeform, Lovers To Enemies, M/M, Me and all my homies hate ozai, Other, Please be nice, Sokka - Freeform, Southern Water Tribe, This is my very first fic!, Zuko - Freeform, light homophobia, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27008323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardwrites/pseuds/Waywardwrites
Summary: The tale of a Water Tribe boy and the Prince of the Fire Nation
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 27





	1. The start of it all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Origin story   
> How it all started and ended in the blink of an eye

He remembers it like it was yesterday. 

Sokka was just 7 years old when he met the prince of the Fire Nation; he can’t remember much from that age, but this was something, _someone_ he would never forget.  
His father had business to attend to in the fire nation, and since Sokka would one day be in his place, he brought him along. There weren’t many other kids of Sokka's age in the South Pole, so his social skills weren’t the best, but he was happy he had made a new friend and ally. While their parents discussed business, Zuko had given Sokka a tour around some parts of the castle, ending at his favorite place; the turtle duck pond. It’s moments like these that Sokka can look back on and enjoy, but they’re also the ones that hurt the most. His life had changed so much since then, Sokka didn’t know it then, but that right there was the start of it all. 

Hakoda had seen how much the boys had gotten along, so he invited Zuko to the South Pole and he brought Sokka to the Fire Nation every time he went. They both wrote letters to each other whenever they were apart, and Hakoda knew that this was the start of a strong bond. What he didn’t know, was that Ozai didn’t share his sentiment. After many vacations, visits, and letters, Azula had decided to snoop.  
One time, while Sokka was at the palace, she caught Zuko and Sokka by the turtleduck pond and knew this was her chance to get rid of him. Azula told her father as soon as Sokka left, and he was outraged. Ozai didn't know how to react. He felt betrayed by his own son. How could he do that to him? Zuko knew the customs and culture of their people. Zuko never saw this coming. He was the crown prince of the strongest nation in the world; he had always looked up to his father, he was a strong and powerful leader. Sokka always thought that Zuko was dumb for wanting to be like his father; he was a cranky, old man, with a stick up his ass, and Sokka thought that Zuko could never be like that. Then, it happened, and Sokka was right.  
It was a day like any other; Zuko had been invited to the war meeting, he was told that he was to be more involved in such matters if he was to be the Fire Lord one day. What Zuko didn't know, was that it was all a trick to get rid of him. Ozai had used Zuko’s speaking out of turn to finally get rid of his disgrace of a son.

It had been a few months since he’d heard from Zuko, and Sokka was getting worried, so he had sent a few letters in the hopes of hearing something, yet he'd received nothing. It was a brisk and uneventful morning, when he saw the Fire Nation falcon, his heart fluttered and he ran towards the aviary to grab the letter. He was so excited that he didn't wait until he got back home to read it. Sokka quickly unraveled the letter and his eyes skimmed the parchment. Just like that, his heart dropped. It was a letter from the Fire Nation but it wasn't from Zuko. It was from _Azula_. Sokka couldn't believe his eyes, nor the pain that his heart was feeling.  
  


_Dear lover boy,_

_How does it feel to know that it's all your fault?_

_Zuko is no longer with us, but oh, don't worry, he’s not dead. That would be too good for him. He's been outcast, banished and burned. Seems fitting for a traitor. You knew our culture just as well as him, yet you tempt him and test his loyalty to our nation? How selfish! It's honestly kind of sad that you keep trying to contact him and that's why I'm writing you this letter. So you know to stop sending your own. They are annoying, and honestly it's getting kind of pathetic._

_With anything but love,_

Crown Princess of the strongest nation in the world, _Azula_. _  
_

Sokka's heart swelled and tears started streaming down his face. Just then, Hakoda smiled and waved at his son as he walked toward the docks. Upon taking a closer look, he saw Sokka collapse to the ground, and ran over to catch him.

“Sokka! Sokka, what’s wrong?!” 

Sokka couldn't breath, and he felt numb.

“Dad, it's Zuko...t-they...” 

He was sobbing, and that's when Hakoda saw the letter. After reading it, he became enraged, he scooped up his son and brought him home, telling Katara what had happened. He asked her to take care of Sokka; he had _business_ to attend to.

In the following weeks Hakoda had sent a letter to the Fire Nation, telling them that they were no longer allies and that if they saw their navy in southern waters, they would have no choice but to attack. Hakoda thought it was for the best; if Ozai could do something like this to his own son, then what would he be willing to do to his ally?

It was a month or two after the incident, as if Sokka wasn't already broken enough, he received another letter. This was the last straw, Sokka's heart was now officially broken.

The letter was from Zuko, but this wasn't his Zuko anymore. This was the banished prince speaking. Sokka had sent a letter a while back saying that Zuko would always be welcome in the south pole, but Sokka had never gotten an answer until now. The letter told him it was all a mistake, and that Zuko wished he had never even met Sokka. Zuko wished that they had never kissed, he said that Sokka was his biggest mistake, and he would still be prince if not for the lowly Water Tribe boy.   
Zuko also put in his letter that the Southern Raiders were indeed part of the Fire Nation, and were ordered to attack the south to rid them of waterbenders. It was their fault that Sokka's mother had died, and reading this was a stab in the back. Zuko had told him when they were younger that the raiders were rogue, and that he knew nothing about it. He had even comforted him all those years ago. It helped them bond and grow closer...how could Zuko _lie_ about that?   
  
This was the end. They could no longer be friends. This was the biggest betrayal. Sokka would never contact Zuko again. They were no longer lovers, or even friends. No, they were enemies now.   
  
Hakoda knew that he needed to be there for his son, but he had a responsibility. He and the other warriors had to leave to go help the Earth Kingdom with the war efforts. Sokka couldn't wait to go; he was a warrior, and he wanted to help his tribe. But Hakoda said he wasn't old enough, and that he had to stay and protect the village. 

He had lost Zuko.

He had lost his father.

He had lost a bit of himself too.

That was years ago, he was just a boy then… He's a man now, and everything is about to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooo the plot thickens  
> So that was the first chapter of my first ever fic 😨  
> I don’t really have a posting schedule but chapter two should but up right after this and chapter 3 is already in the Works  
> I’m also uploading this chapter from my phone and it’s very touchy so if you see a mistake no you didn’t :)


	2. Fishing Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some wholesome and chaotic family time

Days..

Weeks..

Even months had passed... 

But not a second of that time did Sokka ever forget about what happened. The edges of the paper were worn from how many times he had read it, and some of the words were smudged from tears, but that didn't matter; he knew every line by heart, the words haunting him, echoing in his mind.

“How does it feel to know it's all your fault?”

“ _All your fault.”_

“ **_Your fault._ ** ” _‘It's all my fault’_ was something Sokka had reminded himself daily, and it was probably something he'd never forget

It had been years, but Sokka had never stopped thinking about him. No matter how badly he just wanted to forget about the prince, he _couldn’t._ He could never forget those amber eyes that lit up when he laughed at his stupid jokes, or the way he rolled his eyes when Sokka said something stupid. It was burned into his brain, _burned._ He shook his head, trying to forget what he was remembering, but how? How could he just forget about him like he meant nothing? How could Zuko just forget about him like he meant nothing to him? Like he was nothing?

Maybe not luckily, but his concentration was broken when he was completely drenched by his sister, Katara.

“Why is it that everytime you play with magic water, I get soaked?”

“It's not magic, it’s waterbending, and it’s-”

“Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah.”

He knew he shouldn't have come out today, but he didn't really have a choice. Ever since his dad left, Katara had really stepped up and taken charge of their village. It was supposed to be his job, _he_ was older and _he_ was the warrior. Well, he was supposed to be anyway. Ever since the whole situation three years ago, Sokka hadn't been himself. He'd been distracting himself by teaching the younger boys how to fight or fish, because almost everyone's fathers had left for the war. It was _his_ responsibility to teach them. Some days were better than others, though. There were days when Sokka wouldn't even leave the hut. 

Today was one of those days.

Katara had to practically drag him out of the hut. Most people knew not to bother him when he was like this, but she didn't care. It had been 3 years, for crying out loud. She wasn't going to sit back and pretend that she didn't know how heartbroken he was, or that she didn't know that he still tried to send letters. Yet she did because she was the one that collected ever letter before it could even leave the aviary. Katara didn't know why he didn't hate him as much as she did. 

He was Fire Nation, and they were responsible for their mother’s death. It only made it more apparent how evil they were when they burned their own prince. Zuko knew, though, and he hid it from them for his own personal gain, he had played Sokka like a fiddle and she could never forgive him.

Sokka had no idea why he had agreed to this; being out here just made his head spin. Just looking at himself in the reflection, seeing a sorry excuse of a man looking back at him. 

“Look, I'm just saying, if i had weird powers, I’d keep my weirdness to myself.” 

“You're calling me weird? I'm not the one that-”

She was cut off by a sudden jolt of the canoe. It was probably for the better, she'd never really been known to hold her tongue, and oh boy did she have a lot to say. That wasn't the point of today, though, she wanted to break this funk he was in and get him back to his old self, even if he was annoying. Just then, the boat entered a current, which sent them into a slipstream, and they both grabbed the sides of the canoe, bracing themselves. Sokka grabbed his spear, plunging it into the water trying to stop the boat, but it was no use. They were in for a ride. 

Sokka tried using the oar to steer around the chunks of floating ice, but he was out of luck. He could hear his sister trying to scream out directions, and then, CRUNCH. Their canoe was smashed in between two large pieces of ice and it sent them flying onto a hard and cold surface. 

“Sokka what were you thinking?? You almost got us killed! Were you even thinking?!”

Silence was all the water tribe boy had to offer, the answer was yes, he was thinking. She knew this. He couldn't say _what_ he was thinking of, but of course, she already knew. That was the whole point of today, wasn't it? Just so she could get him out here to talk and clear his mind. He thought his own sister would understand that it wasn't going to be that easy.

“Oh, really? The silent treatment. How typical. You don't even have to say anything” she rolled her eyes “like I don't already know the answer,” katara huffed.

Sokka let out a low growl. “Oh, will you just can it already? I was doing my best! It's not like _you_ could have done any better.”

Katara sat up and brushed the snow off of herself. “You call that your best?”

Sokka crossed his arms “If you didn't like it, why didn't you just waterbend us out of it huh?”

Katara was fed up with Sokka's little bitch boy attitude, so she pushed herself and brushed herself off and stood in front of him, finally putting her foot down. Literally.

“Oh, so it's my fault? How on earth could this possibly be my fault?!”

‘I knew I shouldn't have come,” Sokka huffed. “You always try to meddle, and I should've known you were going to screw this up too.”

Katara slammed her foot down on the ice. “That's IT! I have HAD IT! I am sick and tired of babying you because you got your heart broken. I'm sick of always having to walk on eggshells around you cause no one is brave enough to tell you what you need to hear!” She was absolutely infuriated, her face turning a nice shade of red. He was so angry that she was just throwing her arms around sending a small crack to the iceberg behind her.

“Uh, Katara-”

“Do NOT interrupt me. I'm not even close to finished with you! I'm so sick of it. Everyone in the entire village knows not to bother you when you get like this, but I'm so tired of picking up YOUR slack!”

“Katara, seriously, calm down,” he warned. The ice was starting to shift and crack.

“NO, that's it! I'm just trying to help you, Sokka. You're supposed to be my big brother, and a leader to everyone here, but it feels like I don't even know you anymore! Y-You're on your own.”

And, just like that, with the final wave of her hand, massive cracks formed in the ice making it splinter and break off crashing into the sea. It created a massive tidal wave that knocked Katara off balance. She fell on the ice pretty hard, and as Sokka went to move to check on her, another wave came, shoving him to the ground. Katara had to grab onto the edge on the ice and reached her hand out to him, he grabbed on and soon joined her on the edge. 

When the water settled he looked to her to see if she was injured and that's when he saw **_it._**

“What is that?” Katara said, but when she turned to look at Sokka, he was already making his way toward the giant glowing orb of ice.

“Sokka, what are you doing?!” She hurried to get up and followed him, hopping from ice patch to ice patch.

Sokka wasn't listening to her, his big ole genius brain was being tickled pink with curiosity. The closer he got, the closer he could make out what exactly was in the ice. Sokka stood there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

“Is that-'' 

Sokka cut her off. “A person.” 

Katara grabbed Sokka’s club and started whacking away at the ice.

“Katara, what are you doing?!” he said, trying to pry her away.  
  


“We have to get them out of there!” She shoved him off and kept swinging the club, smashing it into the ice.

“We don't even know what **_it_ ** is! It could be a trap set by the Fire Nation!”

“If you're not gonna help, shut up!” she huffed, sending a final blow to the ice and releasing a blast of air that sent her flying backwards.

“Katara!” Sokka ran to her side and picked her up in his arms. She had a small scratch on her head, but she looked fine, and he let out a relieved sigh. That's when he heard the ice cracking, and he turned his body to shield and protect his sister from the massive blast of air that was released from the giant glowing orb. 

When the air stopped and the snow and ice settled , Sokka helped Katara up to her feet. There was a massive beam of light that was fading. It looked like it shot all the way to the moon it went so high. They then slowly and cautiously made their way around the wall of ice and peeked inside.

_They had no idea what they were getting themselves into._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so basically sokka needs to get his shit together am i right  
> i wonder whats in the iceberg hehe  
> chapter 3 is already in the works but it might take a little bit  
> much love :)


End file.
